


Before Her Name

by anisstaranise



Series: From My Heart Flown: Collection of Drabbles [27]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, F/M, Falling In Love, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 22:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5181452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anisstaranise/pseuds/anisstaranise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn’t until the clicking of heels entered the bullpen and into his life did everything seem bearable; that maybe, just maybe, he was exactly where he needed to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Before Her Name

**Author's Note:**

> For _Anons_ who prompted words: **smile** \+ **proposal**
> 
> Title and lyrics from **John Mayer** 's " _City Love_ "

_I never liked this [city] much,  
It always seemed too big to touch._

The din of the precinct carried above the frantic tapping of the keyboards under his fingers. Things in Central City ran at a different pace, all a notch faster than everything ever was back in his old city, his old precinct.

He never liked big cities. Everything was overwhelming; buildings were taller, egos were bigger, political-red tapes around investigations were stronger. He always felt like he was drowning in this city- lost, helpless.

It wasn’t until the clicking of heels entered the bullpen and into his life did everything seem bearable; that maybe, just maybe, he was exactly where he needed to be.

“Hi,” a smooth, silky voice greeted him.

He looked up from the report he had been typing, his sights welcoming the reprieve of staring at anything other than the glare of the screen.

It happened in a blink of an eye- how his breath was knocked right out of his lungs the moment he saw her.

“Hi,” he replied, standing up the way chivalrous men ought to in the presence of a woman such as she. “Can I help you?”

She giggled- the tinkling of her voice the most melodious sound he had ever heard.

“I’m looking for my father- Joe West?”

“Oh right, Joe,” he said as he tried to will himself to stop staring at her. “Last I heard he was heading up to the forensics lab. Anything urgent? I can send someone to get him for you.”

“Oh, no no no,” she said with a smile that stuttered his heart. Who was this woman that had such an effect on him?

“Really? Because it’s no problem,” he said, feeling a wide smile spreading across his lips.

“No, it’s okay. I just dropped by to ask if he wanted to have lunch with me.”

“I see.”

There was a disappointment festering within. She was about to take her leave. He didn’t want this moment to end.

Who was this woman, he thought. Everything he was feeling in her presence- he had never felt before.

He noted the way she fidgeted with the strap of her bag and shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she glanced down at the floor, then back at him. Perhaps she didn’t want this moment to end either, his detective nature deduced, but he forced himself not to read too much into things.

“I’m Iris, by the way,” she finally said after a moment of silence. “Iris West.”

Iris stretched out a hand, her slender fingers inviting him for a handshake. He reached out and gently gripped her hand. Her skin was soft to the touch but there was a rough electricity coursing through him- like being struck by lightning.

“Eddie Thawne.”

“Eddie,” she breathed, and the sound of his name was perfect on her lips. “Nice to finally meet you. My father speaks highly of his new partner.”

Heat crept up at the back of his neck. He was used to compliments but never like this, never from a woman such as she.

And for the first time since moving to Central City, he felt he belonged.

 _I can't remember how I found-  
my way before she came around_.

\---

_She keeps a toothbrush at my place,  
As if I had the extra space._

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she whispered in his ear.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth before he cracked an eyelid open. He immediately shut them again at the onslaught of sun rays through the windows, curtains already drawn.

“It’s too early,” he grumbled.

The welcomed weight of her body on his motivated him to fully wake up. It was a morning dance they did whenever Iris spent the night- something she did more frequently after months of dating.

“It’s Friday. One more day before the weekend,” she purred, punctuating her words with nips and licks on his neck, down to his chest.

He circled his arms around her petite frame, pulling her closer. “You’re not helping with the waking up bit.”

She pressed down on him, kissing him deeply. He returned them in earnest. But just as he was about to pull her shirt over her head and inscribe his love for her on her silky, cocoa skin, Iris leapt from bed and bounded for the bathroom.

He groaned, missing the warmth of her body, of the sense of _home_ he felt in her arms. One glance at the clock on the bedside table forced him to lament another time and roll out of bed.

Dressed only in boxers, he padded to the kitchen, immersing himself in the satiated buzz flowing through his body from last night’s bout of love making and brewed a pot of coffee. Just as she had started to leave her toothbrush in the bathroom and some clothes in closet, Iris had started to leave her travel mug in his kitchen. And he had started to fill it with her choice of coffee- two creams, no sugar- ever since, getting it ready for her by the time she needed to leave for work.

“You’re heaven sent,” she chirped as she tiptoed to kiss the back of his neck, picking up the travel mug and her bag. The sensation never ceased to send a pleasurable shudder down his spine.

How lucky was he to have a woman such as she, he thought.

“I love you,” she breathed on his lips after a parting kiss. “I’ll see you tonight.”

It wasn’t until she had walked out the door that he realized she had been wearing the shirt he had initially laid out the night before for him to wear to work this morning. A smile so wide curled on his face. He didn’t mind. She looked better in them anyway.

_She steals my clothes to wear to work.  
I know - her hairs are on my shirt._

\---

_I smile just because I've got a city love,  
I found it in [her]._

He trotted down the path with a smile on his face, the weight of the box giving his steps a renewed sense of purpose. He chanced a final glance at his grandmother’s house, elated to have her blessings.

He had clocked out early from work, citing his leave of absence as _personal reasons_. The Central City Police Department had just closed a big case involving meta-human siblings that could walk through walls and stole precious paintings from museums and art galleries for clients who had hired them. The precinct could manage half a day without him, he reasoned.

Tonight was going to be special; from the wine he had selected to the Mediterranean meal he had planned on making.

Tonight, after a year and a half together, he would show how much he loved Iris West, how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

After the table was set and the candles were lit, he placed the box with his grandmother’s ring on Iris’ plate and waited for the love of his life to come home.

He had planned a big romantic proposal. But he was too impatient for that; not with his love for Iris thrumming true under his skin and in his veins. He just wanted to scream from the rooftops; _She’s the one._

He wanted to make it all count- every second of their lives, for her to be his, for them to be forever.

His heart started racing a mile a minute the moment he heard the lock turn in the door as Iris stepped in.

“I’m home,” she sang happily.

Their eyes met across the room before she averted them to the flowers and candles in the room. It didn’t take long for her gorgeous hazel eyes- eyes that he loved so well, to fall on the ring box.

Before his lips could form _Will you marry me_ \- a teary eyed Iris leapt into his arms, muttering muffled _yes, yes, yes_ into his neck.

Later, when he slipped the ring onto his beautiful fiancé’s finger, he couldn’t help but think of how Central City had changed his life in so many ways. The life he left when he moved to the city seemed like ages ago, like it had been someone else’s life. Because, truth be told, he couldn’t recall a time before Iris.

Truth be told, his life began the day Iris had strutted into the bullpen of the CCPD precinct and into his life.

_And I can’t remember life before her name._

\---END

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> Comments welcomed.


End file.
